Aldrovandi, ULYSSES

Aldrovandi, ULYSSES, one of the most distinguished naturalists of the 16th century, was born at Bologna in 1522. He was educated partly in his native city, and partly at Padua. In 1550 he was imprisoned as a heretic at Rome; and after his liberation wrote a treatise on ancient statuary. Having taken his degree in medicine at the university of Bologna in 1553, he occupied successively the chairs of Botany and Natural History there, and practised medicine for some time. He established the Botanical Garden at Bologna in 1567, and was for many years engaged in forming a museum of natural history. All his studies and collections were made subservient to his work on Natural History, the first volume of which—on Birds—appeared in 1599. Six volumes appeared during Aldrovandi's life; other seven were published from his manuscripts after his death, which took place in 1605. His work on Botany was also of great importance, and he was the first to collect a real herbarium, as the word is now understood.